Ask for a signing bonus when base may not move. What to say about the amount, the payback clause, and the first-year gap.
Sample figures are filled in so you can see the script. Replace them with your offer before you copy it.
Your script
Base $160,000. Annual bonus $0. Equity yearly value $20,000.
Priced total: $180,000.
Target total compensation: $190,000.
Target is $10,000 above the priced figure, about 5.6%.
Opener
Thank you for the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk through compensation while the package is still open.
Anchor and justification
I am targeting $190,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $160,000 base, $0 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $180,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.6%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The market check I can cite is that the base looks in range. The gap is the first-year cash. The scope I can defend is this. I own a production service and I am the person on call for it.
Name the target once. Do not raise it on the spot, and do not apologize for it.
If they say this is our best offer
I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.
Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.
If they say the budget is fixed
Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?
Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.
If they ask for your current salary
I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $190,000.
I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.
You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.
Non-salary asks
If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.
I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.
Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.
I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.
I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.
Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.
Closing
I would like to get to yes. If $190,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?
Email version
Subject: Compensation for the software engineer role
Hello,
Thank you for the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk through compensation while the package is still open.
I am targeting $190,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $160,000 base, $0 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $180,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.6%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The market check I can cite is that the base looks in range. The gap is the first-year cash. The scope I can defend is this. I own a production service and I am the person on call for it.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
I would like to get to yes. If $190,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?
Thank you,
[Your name]
A signing bonus is one-time cash. It does not compound, it may have a payback if you leave early, and it can still be the cleanest way to close a first-year gap when the salary band will not move. This page leads with that ask. The sample offer is $160,000 base, no annual bonus, and $20,000 of equity value, targeting $190,000 total. The cash gap is the point of the signing bonus conversation.
Ask for the terms
Say the target, then say that if base cannot get there you want a signing bonus that covers part of the first-year difference. Ask for the amount and the payback terms in writing. A bonus you have to return in full if you leave before twelve months is different from a bonus that vests monthly. Read that clause before you treat the bonus as yours.
Do not trade away a permanent base increase for a signing bonus unless you mean to. Next year’s raise is usually a percent of base, not of the sign-on. If the band has room, ask for base first. Use the signing bonus when they have told you base is the fixed part.
The email version is selected so you can forward the number and the payback question together. If you would rather say it, switch the channel to phone. The facts stay.
Questions
How large a signing bonus should I request?
Enough to close a real first-year gap, not a number picked to shock them. Name the gap you are trying to cover. The script will not invent a bonus figure you did not aim at with your target.
Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.
